page_title: Spelman College
section_title: Presidents
hierarchical_section_title: Spelman College / History / Presidents
caption_attribution_description: English: Dr. Johnnetta Cole, Director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, speaks at the Young Women Empowering Communities: Champions of Change event on Tuesday, September 15, 2015 at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC. The Champions of Change program was created by the White House to recognize 'individuals doing extraordinary things to empower and inspire members of their communities."
context_page_description: Spelman College is a private, liberal arts, women's college in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The college is part of the Atlanta University Center academic consortium in Atlanta. Founded in 1881 as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, Spelman received its collegiate charter in 1924, making it America's oldest private historically black liberal arts college for women.
context_section_description: Since its inception Spelman has had ten presidents:
  Sophia B. Packard, (1888) founded women's seminary with Giles in a basement of the historic Friendship Baptist Church (Atlanta) and cultivated Rockefeller support for the school
  Harriet E. Giles, (1891) under whom the school granted its first college degrees
  Lucy Hale Tapley, (1910) under whom the school decided to focus on higher education, the school officially became Spelman College (1927), and Sisters Chapel, one of the main buildings on campus, was erected.
  Florence M. Read, (1927) a Mount Holyoke College graduate, under whom the school established an endowment fund of over $3 million, the school came into agreement with Atlanta University and Morehouse College to form the Atlanta University Center (later Clark-Atlanta University, Morris Brown College, Morehouse School of Medicine, and the Interdenominational Theological Center were added), the Arnett Library was built, and Spelman earned approval from the American Association of Universities;
  Albert E. Manley (1953) (the first black and first male president of Spelman), under whom study abroad programs were established, the fine arts center was built, and three new residence halls and several classroom buildings were renovated. According to Howard Zinn, Manley tried to suppress the student civil rights movement that was taking place on campus during his tenure.
  Donald M. Stewart (1976) under whom the departments of women's studies and chemistry were founded, and three strategic programs were formed: the Comprehensive Writing Program, the Women's Research and Resource Center, and the Ethel Waddell Githii Honors Program, and a continuing education department and a computer literacy program were established;
  Johnnetta B. Cole (1987) (the first African-American woman president of Spelman), under whom the college received $20 million from Drs. William and Camille Cosby for the construction of the Cosby Academic Center and instituted the Cole Institute for Community Service;
  Audrey F. Manley (1997) (the first alumna president of Spelman), under which Spelman gained a Phi Beta Kappa chapter, Spelman was accepted as a provisional member of NCAA Division III athletics, a Science Center was finished;
  Beverly Daniel Tatum, (2002) who was appointed in 2002 after teaching and serving as an administrator for a number of years at Mount Holyoke College, and under whom the renovation of Sisters Chapel was begun. Also during her tenure, she established the Wellness Revolution which is a holistic initiative to empower and educate Spelmanites;
  Mary Schmidt Campbell, (2015) previously a President Obama appointee who served as vice chair of the President's committee on the Arts and Humanities, she was dean emerita of the Tisch School of the Arts and Associate Provost for the Arts at New York University.
caption: Johnnetta Cole, first African-American woman president and president emerita of Spelman
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